Tuesday, January 3, 2012

OK, I know this is belated but I just got back into my school to take pictures of the kids' work. Right before school got out, we went Christmas CRAZY! We did LOTS of Grinch activities from Cara Carroll and Deanna Jump that I loved because I am basically a Grinch fanatic. Here they are:

"The Grinch was as green as a tree. His heart was as small as a little light"

"To make a Grinch grin I would tell him that Christmas doesn't exist."

Changes in the Grinch throughout the story

After that, we moved on to "If You Take a Mouse to the Movies" and elf applications all originally by the fabulous Cara Carroll. Here those are:

"If you took me to the movies, I would ask for M&Ms because I like chocolate"

The "Elves Wanted" wording AND this version of the elf applications actually came from Rachelle at What the Teacher Wants. They are slightly more Common Core aligned than the originals, but I loved both Cara and Rachelle's creative designs.

Now for the grandest news... it is the day after Christmas break and we've already had our first snow day. Can you believe it?! Our district just looooves to call off school, which I must admit is OK with me. Many of our kiddos live on top of big ole hills (or knobs as we like to call them) with tiny, winding roads leading to their houses that our buses have to navigate. Personally, I don't see how the bus drivers do it on a GOOD day, much less a slick and snowy one. I live on Main Street, and here's what it looked like around 6 p.m. last night:

And here's what it looked like around 7:15 last night:

Here, snow of that level constitutes a SNOW DAY!!! WOO HOO!!! I got plenty done in my classroom and my apartment is now Christmas-free! It was a grand day, and now it's back to reality. I can't wait to see my kiddos tomorrow...I've missed them (and the instructional assistants) SO MUCH!
When they get back they'll be doing this fun word work activity I've made up for them, and am sharing right HERE. Kids choose a snowflake card and then roll a dice. Depending on what they roll, they change a letter of the word on their snowflake card. If the new word is real they record it.
The snowflake graphics in this printable were found for FREE at wpclipart.com. While the stuff may not be as cute as the graphics at Scrappin' Doodles and Thistle Girl Graphics, it is FREE and completely free of any legal drama! I hope that this word work activity is something you can use. Have a great start back to school!